Overview
- The Pretoria Magistrates’ Court granted Busisiwe Mkhwebane a Section 174 discharge on Wednesday, October 1, after prosecutors withdrew the primary perjury charge and the court acquitted her on the remaining counts.
- The criminal case grew from Mkhwebane’s 2017–18 Absa/Bankorp probe and allegations that she lied under oath about meetings with former president Jacob Zuma, a complaint first laid by Accountability Now with the Hawks.
- A 2019 Constitutional Court majority had earlier criticised aspects of her conduct and ordered her to pay 15% of the Reserve Bank’s legal costs, but those civil findings did not satisfy the criminal standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt.
- The Legal Practice Council has a separate application before the Gauteng High Court to strike Mkhwebane from the roll of advocates on 18 grounds, including dishonesty and incompetence, and she has said she will oppose that bid.
- The acquittal removes the criminal route of accountability but is likely to intensify debate over the NPA’s handling of the case and leave professional disciplinary proceedings as the key remaining forum for sanctions.